Black Box PAC presents a Staged Reading of "Everything In The Garden"

(TEANECK, NJ) -- In association with The Estate of Edward Albee, Black Box PAC presents 1963's Everything In The Garden on Wednesday, February 28th, 2024 at Debonair Music Hall. From the masterworks to the rarely seen, this curated monthly series began in May 2023 and has presented staged readings of works such as The Sandbox, The American Dream, Finding The Sun, The Man Who Had Three Arms, Malcolm, Counting the Ways, Listening, Fragments (A Sit-Around), The Play About The Baby, and The Lady From Dubuque. Admission is free.

In George Oppenheimer’s words: “As always with Mr. Albee there is a theme beneath the surface, in this case the corruption of money and the rottenness of this bigoted exurbia where conformity to its illiberal standards and its hypocritical show of respectability is all that counts. The scene is the suburban home of Jenny and Richard, beautifully played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Barry Nelson. The only thing that seems to stand in the way of their happiness is a lack of money. The action starts in an entertaining comedy of manners style. Then abruptly there enters a Mrs. Toothe in the menacing and fascinating person of Beatrice Straight who offers Jenny the opportunity to make more money than they have ever had, to buy a greenhouse and all the other luxuries that they require for their garden and their lives. Richard’s realization that their newfound money is being earned by his wife’s whoring comes almost simultaneously with the return of their fourteen-year-old son from school and a champagne cocktail party which they are giving to impress their country club friends. As a result, his horror, disgust and rage has to be kept under wraps in order to keep up essential appearances until tragedy strikes, and Richard realizes that the assembled wives are all involved and their husbands are aware and condoning.” More than that, they are prepared not merely to justify but defend the ends through which their means are attained—and the devastated Richard, left in agonized despair by the ironic events that charge the final moments of the play, must face the fact of his own share in their communal guilt.

The performance will feature BBPAC regulars including Ilana Schimmel, J Niles, Michael Gardiner, Danielle MacMath, Justin Jager, Deb Maclean, Danny Hoffman, Alexandra Brokowski, and Chris Marzulla,.  Following the show, join us for conversation with the cast, director Matt Okin, and Jakob Holder, Executive Director of The Edward F. Albee Foundation and Mr. Albee's longest serving assistant.

Justin Jager and Danielle MacMath, photo by David Zimand

Reserve seats for FREE at www.blackboxpac.com. Debonair Music Hall is located at 1409 Queen Anne Road b/w State Street and Walraven Drive in Teaneck, New Jersey. Debonair is adjacent to free street and lot parking, and the venue offers ground floor entry. The event begins at 7:30pm.

Edward Albee was born on March 12, 1928, and began writing plays 30 years later. His plays include The Zoo Story (1958), The Death of Bessie Smith (1959), The Sandbox (1959), The American Dream (1960), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? (1961-62, Tony Award), Tiny Alice (1964), A Delicate Balance (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award), All Over (1971), Seascape (1974, Pulitzer Prize), Listening (1975), Counting the Ways (1975), The Lady From Dubuque (1977-78), The Man Who Had Three Arms (1981), Finding the Sun (1982), Marriage Play (1986-87), Three Tall Women (1991, Pulitzer Prize), Fragments (1993), The Play About the Baby (1997), The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (2000, 2002 Tony Award), Occupant (2001), At Home at The Zoo: (Act 1, Homelife. Act 2, The Zoo Story) (2004), and Me, Myself & I (2008). Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980.  In 1996 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.  In 2005, he was awarded a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Since Fall 2021, The Black Box has incubated new and under-produced plays by world-class artists such as Eric Bogosian, Paul Schrader, Beth Henley, Craig Lucas, Neil Labute, Daniel Handler, Ken Levine, and most recently John Patrick Shanley. Collaborations are now underway with The Estates of Sam Shepard and IB Singer as well as with artists including Craig Carnelia, Migdalia Cruz, John Lahr, Ishmael Reed, Halley Feiffer, and Billy Martin.

Michael Gardiner and Danielle MacMath, photo by David Zimand